


Smolder

by tcheschire



Series: Tumblr Requests [2]
Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: F/M, Kidnapping, Light Angst, Reader-Insert, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:21:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26585035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tcheschire/pseuds/tcheschire
Summary: You did not reach for the tea, those ember eyes regarding you from beneath the shelf of his head dressing. Smoke curled from the corners of his scarred lips, making him look very much like a dragon.A dragon, and you felt like a rabbit quaking in its hutch under that gaze.Shishio kidnaps you to prove a point. Continuation of Scent of Rain. Tumblr requst.
Relationships: Himura Kenshin/Reader
Series: Tumblr Requests [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933819
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Smolder

**Author's Note:**

> Continuation of Scent of Rain. The request for this one was: " _Hiiii. I loved your Ruroni Kenshin fic. And I’m sad that there’s not more. So I was wondering if you could do a Kenshin Himura x reader fic where kenshin and the reader are in an established relationship and the reader is kidnapped by Shishio Makoto?_ "

“Are you scared?”

You shifted on your cushion, back stiffening.

The man, heavily bandaged and fairly radiating heat and malice, raised a gloved hand and waved it lightly before propping it against his cheek, flashing a grin that felt more cruel than reassuring. Immediately, his ornate partner appeared at your elbow and poured you a tasse of what smelled like very fine tea.

“I could understand why you would be,” the man continued, his voice reverberating off of the walls of your skull. “I’m told this face is quite frightening.” His teeth bit down on the mouthpiece of his pipe with a light _clack_ , and his grin widened. “But you needn’t be. I don’t have any intention of hurting you, not for any particular reason.”

You could not help the response that slipped past your lips. “ _Not for any particular reason_ ,” you parroted, “Oh, well, in that case I am well relieved.”

You did not reach for the tea, those ember eyes regarding you from beneath the shelf of his head dressing. Smoke curled from the corners of his scarred lips, making him look very much like a dragon.

A dragon, and you felt like a rabbit quaking in its hutch under that gaze.

Finally, he spoke again, tapping his pipe against the smooth wood of the table, the woman coming to settle herself snugly against his side. “I did not take you for _you_ – I took you to prove a point.”

“To Kenshin.”

“I’ve heard that he doesn’t kill, but I will admit,” he continued with a laugh, leaning forward slightly, “I cannot for the life of me see how he intends to stand against me without the resolve to kill. Even disregarding the thrill I know he gets – the thrill all men get when another man’s hot blood is streaming through his fingers – it simply isn’t reasonable.”

“I’m glad we’re being reasonable, then.” To mask the shaking of your hands, you sipped lightly at the tea and found you were right. It was very fine.

The woman disguised her laugh against the sleeve of her furisode, but the man threw his head back in his mirth. “You see, I know _senpai_ loves you – it is clear to anyone with eyes, even now with this new personality he flaunts. And man in love has to be willing to do anything for his lover – even debase all of his morals.”

You eyed the delicate hand that stroked his chest as he spoke, and for once chose to keep your tongue.

He seemed not to notice, swept away in a dialogue all his own, and he gripped the pipe in his fist so tightly you heard the leather creak. “I want him to see how weak his ideals are and how easily he’ll throw them away – if he isn’t strong enough to defend the person he loves most, then how can he defend this pathetic country?”

“I suppose we will simply have to see, that we will.”

You started, so enraptured by the tension that you had not heard the _shoji_ doors slide open. Your heart leapt into your throat at the sight of him there, just as he had left you days ago, but you halted before you could run to him – this wasn’t quite right. You almost felt fooled by the familiar verb form, but even so there was a bristling energy about him, a crackling in the air that was not the same Himura Kenshin you had begun to call your home.

There was a brief exchange of gestures, the slightest of hand waves, the barest tilt of his head, and you fled the table of the bandaged man across the tatami mats. Kenshin’s eyes flickered over to you once, a quick once over to ensure that you were safe, before his attention fixed firmly onto the simmering danger in the room. It took you quite aback, and the world spun in a buzz around you – the tension exhausted you to the point that you fell to your knees breathlessly at the feet of the tall policeman at Kenshin’s side.

By no means were you a swordsman. You had held the _sakabato_ but once, and found it heavy with purpose that you couldn’t quite fathom. But even you felt how heavy the air had become, stifling under the weight of the gazes of all of these incredible warriors.

This was what the heart of a swordsman felt like, you realized. This was the affect it had on the area around him, even when he wasn’t moving. You did not even pay mind to the words being said – you felt the chilling intent piercing deep into your chest.

The spurts of violence were a blur – one after another, the mats leaving a shredded wreckage of the battles – and even though you had seen Kenshin fight, even though you had seen Himura Battousai fight at the height of his fame, this was not the same.

You jerked back to yourself when you felt the gentle hand on your shoulder, forced yourself to raise your own hand to gently cup his cheek, and though he leaned into the touch as he always did, you felt the tremors of rage throughout his body. When his eyes opened and met with yours, there was a flicker there that you had never seen, and you knew the man before you wasn’t quite the same Himura Battousai as Shishio had wanted to meet, but deep in your gut you also knew he was not the same Himura Kenshin you had come to love so deeply.

Worse, you didn’t know if that man would return to you, even after everything was over.

You couldn’t see how he even could.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're feeling it, come find me on Tumblr! I can be found at my writing blog [tcheschirewrites](https://tcheschirewrites.tumblr.com) or you can shoot me a request at [tcheschireimagines](https://tcheschireimagines.tumblr.com).


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